THE SKAGIT COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE BYLAWS
ARTICLE I
Name
The name of this organization shall be THE SKAGIT COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE, otherwise called the CENTRAL COMMITTEE.
ARTICLE II
The Central Committee is the administrative body of the Democratic Party of Skagit County. Its purpose shall be to: encourage the growth and influence of the Democratic party in general; raise and disburse funds; promote the election of Democrats to office; and conduct the business of the Party within Skagit County.
Central Committee Membership
Section 1. The members of the Central
Committee shall be: those persons identified by the County Auditor as duly
elected Precinct Committee Officers
and those
appointed to vacancies
by the Central Committee Chair with the advice and consent
of the Executive Board.
Section 2. Precinct Committee Officers may only be appointed to vacancies after the reorganization meeting, but not later than the third regular Central Committee meeting of the second biennium of the Central Committee’s term.
Section 3. Central Committee members may make an annual contribution to the Central Committee each fiscal year, January 1-December 31.
ARTICLE IV
Officers
Section 1. The officers of the Central Committee shall be: a Chair and a Vice-Chair of the opposite sex, a State Committeeman and a State Committeewoman, and an appointed Secretary and an appointed Treasurer of the opposite sex.
Section 2. Qualifications and terms of Central Committee officers.
(a) Elected and appointed Precinct Committee Officers only are eligible for Central Committee Officer positions.
(b) Officers are to be elected at the organizational meeting following the state general election held in even-numbered years, subsequent to the certification of Precinct Committee Officers by the County Auditor, but no later than the second Saturday of January following that general election.
(c) The terms of office are two years or until successor officer(s) are elected. Offices may be vacated by: death, resignation, change of residence to outside the precinct from which one was elected Precinct Committee Officer, or removal from office for cause.
ARTICLE V
Election Procedures
Section 1. Nominations for Central Committee elective offices shall be made from the floor of a Central Committee meeting. The nominee must accept nomination at that time or provide written acceptance if absent.
Section 2. Election Requirements. A majority vote is required. In an election involving multiple nominees for the same office, the candidate receiving the least votes is dropped from succeeding ballots until such time one receives a majority or until only two candidates remain.
Section 3. Roll Call. The Secretary shall call the roll of Precinct Committee Officers and receive the ballots as called.
Section 4. Special Elections. Vacated elective Executive Board positions shall be filled at the next regular meeting of the Central Committee or at a special meeting of the Central Committee called for that purpose.
ARTICLE VI
Section 1. The Chair shall be the chief executive officer of the Central Committee; appoint and be an ex-officio, non-voting member of all Standing and Special Committees; provide for good management of the organization, and appoint as necessary a parliamentarian, sergeant(s)-at-arms and an electoral tally committee of three; and, with the approval of the Executive Board, appoint a Secretary and a Treasurer and call and prepare for County Conventions in even numbered years.
Section 2. The Vice-Chair shall be the chief aide of the Chair; substitute for the Chair in the Chair’s absence; Chair the Resolutions Committee.
Section 3. The State Committeeman and Committeewoman shall represent the Central Committee at the state level and report to the Central Committee and Executive Board.
Section 4. The Secretary shall be secretary to the Central Committee and the Executive Board.
Section 5. The Treasurer shall: receive all funds and deposit them in a designated bank, present bills to the Executive Board for action at the earliest opportunity, write checks to cover only approved expenses, report to the Executive Board and Central Committee, be responsible for Public Disclosure Commission and similar reports, and submit an annual report to the Central Committee for audit by three District Chairs.
Central Committee Meetings, Voting, Quorum, Resolutions
Section 1. Organizational Meeting. The Central Committee shall meet for the purpose of reorganization following each state general election held in even-numbered years, subsequent to the certification of Precinct Committee Officers by the County Auditor, but no later than the second Saturday of the following January. The Chair of the retiring Central Committee shall cause notice of the time and place of such meeting to be mailed to each Precinct Committee Officer at least two weeks prior to the date of the meeting.
As the first order of business, the retiring Central Committee Chair shall make
a final report.
The
retiring
Chair shall
then
call upon the Central Committee to elect a chair pro-tem for the purpose of
electing a Chair for the coming biennium. At
that point, all Central Committee Offices are vacated.
The newly elected chair shall conduct the election of the other Central
Committee officers.
Before the
conclusion of the meeting, the Chair shall request the Precinct Committee
Officers to meet in their three respective Commissioner groups, each to select
its Chair and Vice-Chair of the opposite sex.
Section 2. Regular Meeting. Meetings shall be held quarterly at the call of the Chair. At least thirty (30) days written notice of the time, place and tentative program shall be sent to Precinct Committee Officers.
Section 3. Special Meetings
(a) Special meetings may be called by: the Chair, the Executive Board, or a petition to the chair signed by at least twenty-five percent of the Central Committee.
(b) Special meeting notices must state the precise purpose for which the meeting is called and the specific issues to be considered.
(c) Written notice shall be sent at least ten days in advance of the meeting. In emergent situations, phone notification may be substituted, but at least three day notice is required.
Section 4. Precinct Committee Officers only are eligible to engage in formal debate and vote on motions and resolutions. The Secretary shall maintain an up-to-date Precinct Committee Officers list and be prepared to certify members’ status.
Section 5. Twenty-five percent of the Precinct Committee Officers shall constitute a quorum at all meetings of the Central Committee.
Section 6. Resolutions
(a) Proposed resolutions should be presented to the Vice-Chair for review by the Resolutions Committee, which shall forward the proposed resolution to the Central Committee for consideration with a recommendation in favor of or against the resolution, or with no recommendation. Proposed resolutions so reviewed by the Resolutions Committee may be adopted by a majority vote of Precinct Committee Officers present at the Central Committee meeting.
(b) Resolutions presented to the Vice-Chair too late for Resolutions Committee consideration and recommendation may be considered for adoption, but a two-thirds majority is required for passage.
ARTICLE VIII
Section 1. Composition: The Central Committee Officers shall constitute the Executive Board.
Section 2. Meetings. Insofar as possible and necessary, the Executive Board shall meet monthly at the call of the chair or a majority of the Executive Board. Written notice of the time, place and tentative program shall be sent at least ten days in advance of the meeting. A report of Executive Board actions shall be given at each meeting of the Central Committee.
Section 3. Duties.
(a) Handle funds as indicated in Article VI, Section 5.
(b) Prepare and/or oversee budgets for the Central Committee and any budgets required for committees and officers.
(c) Exercise all powers and perform all duties of the Central Committee between meetings of that body.
ARTICLE IX
Rules
Roberts Rules of Order, Revised, shall govern all questions of procedure, except for cases in which different rules are specifically provided by these Bylaws.
ARTICLE X
Associated Democratic Groups and Individuals
Section 1. County Democratic Clubs may apply to the Central Committee for recognition as an associated group supporting Democratic principles and programs.
Section 2. Associated individual Democratic status is available for registered Skagit County Voters declaring personal identification with the Democratic Party. These individuals are eligible for appointment by the Chair to ad hoc committees and non-governance service.
Section 3. Democratic Clubs and individual Democrats may make an annual contribution to the Central Committee each fiscal year, January 1-December 31.
ARTICLE XI
Amendments
These by-laws may be amended by a two-thirds majority vote of
the Central Committee members at any regular or special meeting provided that
the proposed amendment(s) have been read at the previous regular meeting of the
Central Committee and that copies have been
provided to the Precinct Committee Officers within three weeks
after
said reading, but not later than ten (10) days before the regular or
special meeting at which the vote on the proposed amendment is taken.
I hereby certify that these Bylaws were duly adopted as amended by the Skagit County Democratic Central Committee at a regularly scheduled meeting on October 8, 2005.
DATED this ____ day of ______________, 2005.
__________________________________ _________________________________
Jim Byron, Secretary Gail Nicolls, Chair